Other writing
A selection of short fiction, non-fiction and podcast and radio appearances.
A drink-fuelled school cruise out of Athens leads to unwanted liaisons and recriminations. From Marni Appleton's debut story collection I Hope You're Happy.
An extract from her new short story collection 'I Hope You're Happy', 'Margot' by Marni Appleton is a story of toxic friendships and lies.
A newlywed becomes increasingly paranoid after her new husband leaves her alone in an isolated house.
Darkly funny, unsettling, and razor-sharp, I Hope You’re Happy by Marni Appleton is a haunting collection of short stories exploring modern womanhood through the lens of horror and satire. From viral photos to eerie performances in dead-end jobs, these stories capture the weirdness of millennial life... where power struggles, fleeting connections, and social media anxieties collide with the surreal. Marni joined Nuala to discuss the themes and her inspiration.
Marni Appleton is here to talk about her collection of short stories, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, published by The Indigo Press.
The modern world Marni presents to us in her stories is one that feels incredibly liberating, but then hinged by archaic attitudes from the past all at the same time. Women go viral on social media for seemingly innocent reasons; open and polyamorous relationships that suddenly feel shut; roles in theatre feel too close to real life.
You can buy I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY from the Rippling Pages bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ripplingpagespod
The stories I have selected for my personal anthology all have something to say about girlhood. As such, themes such as danger, sex, love, friendship and family recur across my selection. But perhaps, even more than those things, each of these stories is preoccupied with the fantasy of other possible lives – lives that could have been lived, those that might yet be lived. This capacity for imagining oneself anew, for changing, for grasping for something bigger, is something I associate with the liminal period of girlhood – but it is also something I associate with the short story. It is a thrilling form, both to read and write, dense with feeling and with possibility. I hope at least one of my chosen stories will speak to you and draw you into its world.
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